ConAgra announced its plans to relocate its Irvine offices last year, and since then Maguire has filled some of the former ConAgra space with subleases to E*Trade Bank and New Century Financial Corp. for approximately 48,000 sf and 78,000 sf respectively. Maguire is marketing the remainder of the food company's former space.

According to REIT chairman and CEO Rob Maguire, the rental and parking rates for the ConAgra lease were "significantly below current market rates" and the REIT believes it can find new tenants "at substantially higher rental and parking rates." The direct vacancy rate in the immediate area surrounding the Park Place complex is about 7% in an Orange County market that has been setting new highs for office rental rates and new lows for vacancy in recent years.

The move out of Irvine was part of a companywide strategy for Omaha-based ConAgra, which decided last year to exit most of its refrigerated meats businesses and to streamline its operating structure. The restructuring included moving its grocery foods headquarters from Park Place, a mixed-use project that totals approximately 1.7 million sf of office and retail space.